Upcycling for sustainability: Q&A with Yolande Klaassen, founder and CEO, Revive Clothing Lab

Upcycling is now a well-established business model in the sustainable fashion sector. French company Revive (https://www.reviveclothinglab.com/) is an excellent example of this trend. Founded in 2020 by entrepreneur Yolande Klaassen, the Lille-based company gives retailers’ unsold inventory a second life. Although it was launched at a difficult time economically, Revive has already operated pop-up stores in several branches of the French luxury department store Le Printemps, as part of that retailer’s circular fashion initiative. The company is now an important part of Fashion Green Hub, the sustainable fashion association based in Roubaix, the birthplace of France’s fashion industry. In this interview, Klaassen explains the circumstances that led her to found her company. More specifically, she shares her insights into the challenges of going to market in the middle of a pandemic, as well as the opportunities provided by recent French anti-waste legislation.